When a Common Infection Attacks: The Life-Threatening Complication of E. coli and Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome

In the landscape of foodborne illnesses, an infection with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) often begins as a painful but seemingly routine bout of gastroenteritis. For most, it remains a miserable, self-limiting experience. However, for a significant minority, particularly young children, the infection can escalate into a medical emergency that attacks the body’s vital organs. This condition is known as Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), a severe complication that represents the leading cause of acute kidney failure in otherwise healthy children in the United States.

HUS is a clinical triad of symptoms: thrombocytopenia (low platelet count), microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (the destruction of red blood cells), and acute kidney injury. While other, rarer forms of HUS exist, the vast m